Morning sunlight filtered weakly through the tall windows of the hero agency's lobby. Mt. Lady paced in front of the glass doors, her long ponytail swishing with every sharp turn. She'd already tried three times to convince Aiden to voluntarily go to the police station. Three times, he'd shut her down with infuriating calmness.
Now, her phone buzzed again. Another message from the police, this one in all caps:
*"ENOUGH DELAYS. IF HE DOESN'T COME WILLINGLY, WE'RE COMING TO GET HIM."*
Mt. Lady muttered under her breath, "Oh, this is going to be a disaster…"
Across the room, Aiden lounged on the arm of a couch, helmet resting casually beside him. He looked completely at ease, sipping his morning tea while flipping through a worn, leather-bound book.
"You do realize," Mt. Lady said finally, turning toward him, "this stubborn act of yours is just making it worse, right?"
Aiden glanced up lazily. "They were always going to make it worse—whether I walked into their station or not."
Mt. Lady threw her hands up. "You're impossible! Do you even want to be a hero?"
"Want?" Aiden set his tea down and met her gaze evenly. "That depends on your definition of 'hero.' From where I'm standing, it looks more like another word for 'obedient soldier.'"
Before she could reply, sirens wailed outside. Multiple police cruisers screeched to a halt in front of the agency. The glass doors swung open with a bang as a tall, stern-looking canine officer stormed in, tail rigid, ears twitching with agitation. Two uniformed officers followed closely behind, and Detective Tsukauchi entered last, his calm demeanor a sharp contrast to the storm brewing beside him.
Mt. Lady quickly stepped forward, hands raised. "Officer, there's no need for—"
"Save it," the dog-faced officer growled, his sharp eyes locking instantly on Aiden. "Do you think being powerful gives you the right to ignore the law? You're an intern—start acting like one!"
Aiden remained seated, perfectly composed, helmet still untouched. "I'm not ignoring the law," he said evenly. "I just don't see the point in obeying an organization that throws its own people into prison."
The words dropped like a grenade in the room.
The officer's hackles rose. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Aiden stood now, slow and deliberate, closing the distance between them with quiet confidence. "Lady Nagant," he said, voice calm but carrying weight. "Ring a bell?"
The officer's snarl faltered slightly. Tsukauchi's expression tightened, but he stayed silent.
"She was your golden operative," Aiden continued. "The one who did all your dirty work—eliminating every 'threat' to your precious, manufactured peace. And how did you thank her? You threw her into Tartarus the moment she stopped following orders."
Mt. Lady's breath caught. Even she, a licensed pro, had only heard whispers about Nagant's imprisonment. Hearing it thrown out so bluntly shocked her.
Aiden's voice sharpened. "You're asking me to trust a system that makes sure no one steps outside the line of what you call heroism. And now you want me to walk into your station, sit in a chair, and play nice while you figure out if I'm another problem you need to 'handle.'"
The officer's claws flexed, sharp teeth bared. "Watch your mouth, kid. You don't know half of what you're talking about."
"Oh, I know enough," Aiden countered, voice calm as ever. "I know you only like obedient heroes, no matter what they do behind closed doors. I know you'd rather blacklist me than admit your system isn't perfect. And I know one day, if I stop smiling for the public, you'll drag me to Tartarus too. The difference is…" His eyes narrowed slightly. "…you're not strong enough to do that."
The canine officer stepped closer, towering over Aiden, their faces inches apart. "You think you're untouchable because you've got flashy tricks and beat Stain? You're one wrong move away from being labeled a vigilante."
Mt. Lady quickly moved between them, holding out her arms. "Whoa, okay—let's all take a breath here!"
But Aiden didn't back down. "You're already calling me a vigilante because I didn't sit through your paperwork. Let's be honest—whatever Stain said on TV wasn't entirely wrong. There hasn't been a single decent hero in the last ten years."
The officer's growl deepened, ears flattening. The tension in the room crackled like static.
"Enough," Tsukauchi said finally, his voice steady but carrying authority. He stepped forward, placing a hand on the officer's arm. "This isn't helping."
He turned to Aiden. "Listen, I understand why you don't trust the system. What happened with Nagant… that's on the Commission, not every officer."
Aiden's gaze shifted to Tsukauchi but remained cold. "And yet you still work for them."
Tsukauchi didn't flinch. "Because someone has to. Someone has to make sure not every case ends in death." He sighed. "We called you in because we need to make sure you won't say something you shouldn't."
Aiden tilted his head slightly. "Let me guess—you want me to pretend that some pro hero defeated Stain instead of me? If you're going to give someone else the credit, make sure they're stronger… or I won't mind beating them up myself."
Tsukauchi shook his head. "And if you do that, you'll stop being a hero and start being a villain instead."
The canine officer finally spoke again, his voice a low, threatening rumble. "Because of your current mentality, we're canceling your internship. Keep this up, and we'll blacklist you permanently."
Aiden stepped closer again, matching his intensity. "You can definitely do that—but it won't stop me from doing what I want." He smirked faintly. "If you've got a problem with that… you know where to find me."
The officer's teeth clenched, but Tsukauchi gestured toward the door. "Let's go back and talk to the other heroes before deciding the next step."
With a final glare at Aiden, the officer turned sharply and stormed out, his team following. Tsukauchi lingered for a moment, meeting Aiden's eyes.
"If you keep ignoring the system," he said quietly, "be careful you don't end up proving yourself right about Tartarus."
Without another word, they left.
---
The lobby was silent again, the only sound Mt. Lady's shaky exhale. She turned to Aiden, rubbing her temples. "You do realize you just declared war on the Hero Commission, right?"
Aiden picked up his helmet, setting it under his arm. "I didn't declare anything. They did, the moment they threatened to blacklist me for saving people."
Great Sage's voice whispered in his mind:
> "Warning: Surveillance on you has increased by 72%.There is a high chance of losing the qualification of being a hero in this world."
Aiden didn't even blink. "forget about them as long as they don't interfere no need to remind me about them."
Mt. Lady stared at him like he was insane. "…You're going to be the end of my career, kid."
Aiden glanced back, the faintest trace of a smile on his face. "Relax. If being a hero doesn't work, we can always try being anti-heroes."
"Hey don't need to involve me I have no interest in becoming anti Hero they don't even get chance of interview" Mt. Lady said as she did not want to get involve with him anymore.